After repeatedly expressing discomfort with the lack of public process, the seven members of the St. Paul City Council have approved a $1 million spending plan to prop up the police department's troubled crime lab.

The cash will allow the revamped lab to continue to do video and fingerprint analysis and crash reconstructions, but drug testing will be sent to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The city plans to pay for two positions at the BCA crime lab, and Ramsey County might pay for a third position.

The decision creates some $700,000 in additional ongoing expenses for the city. Addressing Assistant Police Chief Bill Martinez and Sgt. Trish Englund on Wednesday, Feb. 6, council members said they were given little time to digest how the money will be distributed or what other programs will have to be cut, but they were eager to make sure criminal evidence is processed correctly and innocent people are not prosecuted.

"I think we were all fairly ashamed by what came out a couple months ago when we found out the condition of our lab," said council member Chris Tolbert, a part-time prosecutor in Hennepin County. "You can't do testing without proper results that people can rely on."

Tolbert added: "I have been somewhat disappointed with the public process in this. This should have been out to the public, so they know what we're doing to resolve this matter. I do think this is important, because the alternative is not acceptable.

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The city council approved $1 million from a contingency fund, and the money will be added to the lab's existing budget, which was already about $800,000.

The crime lab has been in the spotlight since last summer, when a hearing disclosed flawed drug-testing practices; a judge is considering admissibility of suspected drug evidence in four cases. Police Chief Thomas Smith halted the lab's drug testing and fingerprint analysis, but the lab recently resumed fingerprint work by certified analysts.

When the city council approved the city's 2013 budget in December, final plans were being made for the crime lab and the council placed additional funds for the lab into contingency.

The additional money includes:

-- A contract with the BCA for $200,000. The plan is for two people to conduct drug testing for the city off-site at the BCA's accredited lab in St. Paul. The unaccredited St. Paul crime lab would seek to become accredited in fingerprint analysis, and keep the work of fingerprint analysis and crime-scene processing in-house.

-- About $258,000 more than the $695,000 already budgeted for staffing, which will include a new lab manager and forensic scientists. The lab previously employed civilian criminalists. The manager and forensic scientists will be required to have more background in science and experience working in an accredited lab.

-- Additional payments of $118,000 for two consultants who started work at the lab last year, looking at improving it. The city has already paid the consultants $77,525. Their final reports are expected soon.

-- An additional $10,000 for chemicals and $210,000 for specialized equipment.

-- About $168,000 for physical improvements to the crime lab.

Council President Kathy Lantry echoed the concerns of several fellow council members before the vote.

"Nobody showed their homework," Lantry said. "But we're also going to get what we pay for, I expect. ... The alternatives were worse, so it's a matter of priorities."

Mayor Chris Coleman approved of the council's action. In a prepared statement, Coleman said: "The action by the Saint Paul City Council today is a smart investment that places key components of the Saint Paul Crime Lab on the road to accreditation."

Mara H. Gottfried contributed to this report. Frederick Melo can be reached at 651-228-2172.